The Technology That Reveals What Happens in a Quintillionth of a Second
In a groundbreaking advance in physics and photonics, scientists have developed technology capable of capturing and analyzing events that occur in an astonishingly brief moment—just 0.00000000000000000000001 seconds, or ten attoseconds. This ultrafast measurement opens a window into the quantum world, enabling unprecedented understanding of the microscopic processes underlying the material universe.
Exploring the Unseen Microworld
Humans often perceive the world as moving quickly, but compared to the frantic pace of events in the microscopic and quantum realms, everyday life proceeds at a glacial speed. Atoms, electrons, and subatomic particles undergo interactions at timescales measured in attoseconds—a billionth of a billionth of a second (1 attosecond = 1×10^-18 seconds). For reference, this is roughly how long it takes light to traverse an atom, making attosecond pulses the natural unit for studying electronic motion in matter.
At the cutting edge of such research, institutions like the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Spain have recently achieved the generation of the shortest soft X-ray pulses ever recorded: just 19.2 attoseconds long. These ultra-brief flashes of light allow researchers to probe electron dynamics with unprecedented temporal resolution, enabling the direct observation of physical phenomena that were previously accessible only through theoretical models.
Award-Winning Advances in Attosecond Science
The monumental importance of attosecond science was recognized in 2023 when Ferenc Krausz (Hungary), Anne L’Huillier (France), and Pierre Agostini (France) were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Their pioneering work on extremely brief pulses of light enabled the measurement of electron energy exchange processes that had until then remained immeasurable. Earlier, this same research had received the BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences.
Recently, the BBVA Foundation and the Royal Spanish Society of Physics honored emerging talent in this domain by awarding the Young Researcher Award in Experimental Physics to Allan Johnson. Johnson is a Canadian-born experimental physicist working at the IMDEA Nanoscience Institute in Spain, recognized for his innovative experiments generating ultrafast light pulses in what is known as the “overdriven regime.” His work employs high-intensity lasers to produce attosecond X-ray pulses, which are vital tools for exploring complex materials.
Allan Johnson’s Ultrashort Pulses: A Compass to the Quantum Universe
Allan Johnson’s research uses extremely powerful lasers focused to intensities that create temperatures hotter than the Sun’s surface. This produces superheated plasma that strips electrons from atoms and breaks down matter at the quantum level. The emitted X-ray pulses, lasting just one attosecond, act as a probing light source for studying how electrons behave and interact inside materials.
One of the fundamental challenges in condensed matter physics is understanding electron dynamics in quantum materials, where electrons do not act independently but are strongly correlated. Such insights could revolutionize material science, enabling the design of new materials with exotic properties such as superconductivity or magnetism tailored on demand.
Johnson highlights the practical importance of his work by noting that approximately 10% of electricity generated is lost during transmission. Better understanding electron behavior could reduce these losses and contribute to climate change mitigation and energy autonomy, particularly within Europe.
Moreover, the technology behind these attosecond X-ray pulses has applications beyond fundamental physics, including improving microprocessor manufacturing, enhancing metrology, and enabling microscopy techniques capable of resolving cells at scales beyond conventional optical methods.
ICFO’s Record-Breaking Attosecond Pulses
Parallel to Johnson’s work, the researchers at ICFO have pushed the frontier by generating the fastest soft X-ray pulses recorded to date—19.2 attoseconds in duration. This achievement surpasses the “atomic unit of time,” or the time it takes an electron to orbit a hydrogen atom (about 24.2 attoseconds), sometimes referred to as the “atomic year.”
According to ICFO physicist Jens Biegert, these ultrashort light flashes pave the way for transformative advances across disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, and quantum technologies. By capturing electron dynamics on their natural timescales, scientists can directly observe key processes underlying photovoltaic energy conversion, catalysis, quantum material behavior, and emergent quantum devices.
Toward New Frontiers in Science and Technology
The ability to create and utilize attosecond pulses marks a paradigm shift in how we study and control the microscopic world. Though the dream of engineering new materials with tailor-made quantum properties is still distant, current advances already promise revolutionary applications in information processing, sensors, space exploration technologies, and neuromorphic computing architectures modeled after the human brain.
As Allan Johnson remarks, Spain has become a welcoming ground for innovative research, with his work at IMDEA Nanoscience building on a rapidly expanding map of the quantum universe—one that until recently existed only as abstract theory.
The microscopic world, responsible for the very fabric and function of the universe, is finally becoming accessible in real time, measured in quintillionths of a second, unlocking secrets that could reshape technology and science for decades to come.
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Sources: EL PAÍS; Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO); BBVA Foundation; IMDEA Nanoscience Institute
